For an ordinary British person, 1,000 pounds is not a small amount. In 1925, the average annual income of the British middle class was only 200 pounds. 1,000 pounds was equivalent to the total income of a British middle class for five years.
Of course, for Valentine's family, 1,000 pounds is not much. The "Manchester Express" is not a major newspaper with a circulation covering the whole country, and the income is still not comparable to ordinary people, so Monica refused the insurance manager's check.
Insist on investigating the cause of Valentine's death to the end.
However, things were obviously not as simple as Monica imagined. At noon the next day, Monica's family lawyer Sapir came to visit and brought bad news.
"The investigation by the London Police Department has not yet concluded. All we can do now is wait -" Sapir looked tired. He had been working on Valentine's case for several days, but unfortunately there was no result.
"My husband must have been killed by the Federal Government of Southern Africa. The Metropolitan Police and the Federal Government of Southern Africa are all the same. Can we hire a private detective?" Monica had a firm attitude and must seek justice for her husband.
"Hire a private detective to investigate the federal government of Southern Africa?" Sapir was surprised. Monica probably read too many detective novels and thought all private detectives were Sherlock Holmes.
In 1887, Conan Doyle began to create the "Sherlock Holmes Series", which was a great success. Holmes also became a well-known British detective. The private detective industry also became famous with Holmes.
Private detectives have a long history in Britain. At the end of the 17th century, the urbanization process caused the population of big cities like London to surge, and criminal activities increased accordingly. The limited sheriffs and police officers could not meet the needs of fighting crime, and "robber catchers" came into being.
"Robbers" specialized in hunting down criminals in order to obtain bonuses for investigating cases. In 1803, in London alone, at least 300 people made a living doing this.
Since the 20th century, the private detective industry has begun to transform into private security companies. The largest private security company in the UK is currently Umbrella from Southern Africa.
"Yes, hire a private detective to investigate the federal government of Southern Africa. As long as we pay enough, we can find out the truth." Monica is a housewife, and she really doesn't know the relationship between Umbrella and Southern Africa.
"Madam, the largest private security company in the UK is the Southern African Enterprise." Sapir looked collapsed. Let alone the relationship between Umbrella and Southern Africa, how much money would it cost to drive a commercial company to investigate one of the best countries in the world?
Not to mention the "Manchester Express", I'm afraid even selling "The Times" won't be enough.
"So what, as long as we pay enough -" Monica firmly believes that money can buy everything.
"The owner of the Umbrella Company is the Marquis of Nyasaland." Sapir said concisely.
Monica continued to look at Sapir with a "so what" look.
"The Marquess of Nyasaland is the Prime Minister of Southern Africa - so no matter how much money we offer, the Umbrella Company will not accept it - and since Mr Valentine's incident, the Manchester Express has not been published so far, and the shareholders have been very
Not satisfied, they are convening a shareholder meeting to discuss the sale of the Manchester Express -" Sapir smiled bitterly, he estimated that he would lose Monica as a client soon, and poor people cannot afford to hire a family lawyer.
"How dare they sell the Manchester Express?" Monica screamed. The "Manchester Express" was Valentine's hard work. Valentine was the majority shareholder of the "Manchester Express" before the car accident.
After Valentine's death, his shares in the "Manchester Express" should be inherited by Monica.
Therefore, if shareholders want to sell the Manchester Express, they should not bypass Monica under any circumstances.
"In fact, that's what they did -" Sapir couldn't help it, and everyone pushed him to the wall. This kind of deprivation is not uncommon in the UK.
"Take me to Strand Street, if they do this, I will sue them." Monica wanted to take up legal weapons and resolutely safeguard her rights.
Manchester Express headquarters in Strand Street.
Still in Valentine's office, the shareholders' meeting is in progress.
"Harriman, is it possible for the Manchester Express to continue operating?" Charles, the second largest shareholder, sat in Valentine's seat with an arrogant attitude.
"It's possible, but it's a bit difficult. All our reporters have resigned, and even the Indians who cleaned the house have gone away -" Harriman leaned against the fireplace with his arms folded, his hair messy and his eyes bloodshot.
He still hasn't gotten over the car accident. The scene of the car explosion left a deep impression on Harriman.
"Then why didn't you leave?" Wyatt, a fat man, was sarcastic. He was the second generation of a playboy from a run-down aristocratic family.
"Mr. Valentine has been kind to me and promoted me from a trainee reporter to editor-in-chief. If you are not satisfied with my work, then I can leave now." Harriman still has feelings for the "Manchester Express"
of.
"Shut up Wyatt, if you can't speak, don't speak." Charles was not polite. He also came from a noble family and currently works in the Ministry of Finance.
This is the UK now. The bourgeois revolution broke out in the UK in the 17th century, but the UK is still controlled by the aristocracy.
It's just that compared to before, the presence of nobles is lower and their methods are more hidden.
"What else can you say? The Manchester Express has not been published for several days. Our assets are being lost. In a few days, we may not be able to find anyone to connect with us, and then we will lose everything -" Huai
Art was not afraid of Charles. He didn't care about the life or death of the Manchester Express, he only cared about his own interests.
"By the way, can we find a successor now?" William, who was lying on the sofa and drinking, looked unconcerned. He was drinking a bottle of 1905 five-star wine from Cape Town. Valentine spent a lot of money to buy this bottle.
I keep a bottle of wine in the office and don’t want to drink it.
Harriman's expression was calm, but his heart was bleeding.
Valentine once said that when the Manchester Express outsold The Times, Valentine would share the bottle with Harriman.
Now that day will never come.
"William, drink less. What you drink is the property of the Manchester Express, and there is a part of me in it." Wyatt's heart was bleeding.
But Wyatt acted on his own initiative, found a cup, and poured himself a full cup, just like he was drinking beer in a bar.
William smiled and said nothing, you guys are making noise, I just came to watch the show.
"Harriman, are you willing to take over the Manchester Express?" Charles didn't know much about the Manchester Express as Harriman did.
"Someone has been looking for me in the past few days, but the price offered is very low, only 3,000 pounds -" Harriman looked at the floor in front of him, trying not to look at Wyatt who was drinking from the cow.
"Why don't you grab 3,000 pounds!" Wyatt kept complaining despite his busy schedule.
At this time, Monica opened the door and came in. As soon as she entered, she was choked by the strong smell of cigarette smoke.
Except for Harriman, several shareholders were smoking cigars.
Of course he was smoking the same cigar that Valentin kept in his office.
Havana cigars from Cuba.
"I heard that you are holding a shareholders' meeting, why don't I, the major shareholder, know about it?" Monica said angrily.
Sapir followed Monica.
Seeing the situation in the office, Sapir silently came to Harriman's side and leaned against the fireplace, in the same posture as Harriman.
"Ha, Mrs. Valentine, I'm so glad to see you. Your husband lent me five thousand pounds last year. When are you going to repay the money?" Wyatt was in high spirits. It was only natural to pay back the debt.
Monica didn't know what was going on, so she looked at Harriman.
"That's not a debt, it's an investment. Mr. Wyatt invested five thousand pounds in the Manchester Express last year -" Harriman knew the business situation of the Manchester Express relatively well.
Monica looked at Sapir again.
Sapir smiled bitterly, the wall fell and everyone pushed it, the drum was broken and everyone beat it, that's it.
"Mrs. Valentine, if you are willing to attend the shareholders' meeting, of course we have no objection, but we do not need to notify you if we want to hold a shareholders' meeting, because you are no longer the major shareholder of "Manchester Express" -" Still sitting
Charles was confident in Valentine's position.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Get up, this is not your place-" Monica seemed to have missed the point.
"Harriman, tell her—" Charles was in control.
"What's going on?" Monica then realized that something was wrong.
"Some time ago, the newspaper's operating conditions were not very good. Mr. Valentine used the newspaper's shares as collateral to borrow money from Mr. Charles -" Harriman poured beans through a bamboo tube. There was no point in hiding it at this time.
"Use the shares of the newspaper as collateral? This is impossible, why didn't I know?" Monica screamed out of control. The shares of "Manchester Express" were Monica's last resort.
"Hahaha, besides going shopping, shopping, and signing checks, what else do you know?" Wyatt's face was full of sarcasm. She is a housewife——
Really, no matter when the time comes, a woman cannot lose her economic autonomy. No matter how rich her husband is, he must have his own career, even if it is charity.
"Why is this happening?" Monica was not in the mood to argue with Wyatt.
Harriman didn't say anything. British newspapers are also very competitive. It's not easy to survive. Financing turnover and so on are normal.
"Mrs. Valentine, if you are willing to stay, please be quiet. Otherwise, please leave and do not affect our meeting." Charles expelled the person directly. Everyone's time is too precious and cannot be wasted on these unnecessary things.
on matters.
"How could you do this? My husband worked so hard for the Manchester Express, and now you want to take away my husband's newspaper. You cold-blooded vampires-" Monica collapsed completely. This blow was too much for her.
